From crash to flash: Jamie's story

There's no doubt that Jamie McInerney has that fighting spirit of a survivor. It was not long ago that she lost her speech, her ability to walk and her memory. She couldn't even get the message to her hand to let go of the bread to feed the birds. Surviving a near-fatal car crash that she emerged from with an acquired brain injury, Jamie now dreams big. She has her sights set on Rio de Janeiro where she wants to compete as an athlete in the Paralympics and has just opened her first photography exhibition. Photography was one of the key forms of therapy that helped Jamie re-learn speech. Here, Jamie shares her story.

When I was five years old, just three weeks after my fifth birthday, I was seriously injured in a horrific car accident.

I can't remember any of the accident. I only know what my parents have told me.

I can't remember any of my life before the accident either so the only memories I have come from photographs.

I was so excited to be five and to be starting school in a few weeks time.

Friday May 28, 1999

My parents remember the sunny lunchtime I spent playing with dad and our 16-week-old puppy, Elmo, in the backyard at home.

Dad went back to work after lunch and Mum and I took Elmo for a ride in the car with the intention of visiting my grandparents. That was Elmo's last car ride.

The three-car-collision was on the Princes Highway 10km west of Mount Gambier.

My mum was giving way to an oncoming car while waiting to turn right. Our car was hit from behind by one car and pushed into the path of the oncoming car. This car hit directly into my side of the car.

The forces involved in being hit twice at high speed caused my brain to move violently around in my skull. My brain actually fractured my skull from inside.

I suffered a severe closed head brain injury. I was unconscious and my mum thought I was dead because she couldn't get a response from me.

The ambulance crews arrived after 30 minutes which seemed like an eternity to my mum and to my dad who had arrived soon after the crash.

I probably would have died on the side of the road if it hadn't been for the life-saving-skills of local paramedic, Dave Dewar.

There were six people injured in the accident - I was the most critical.

Many people stopped to offer help. I had my dad and two passers-by helping Dave as he didn't have enough hands to do all he had to do for me.

Mum was lying beside me with a broken pelvis and elbow. She kept talking to me trying to keep me from slipping away.

Emergency code blue

I was taken to Mount Gambier Hospital. An emergency code blue was called on me as I stopped breathing during a CT scan.

I was resuscitated and intubated and later that night I was airlifted by the Royal Flying Doctors to the Women's & Children's hospital in Adelaide.

My dad flew up a few hours after me on a commercial flight. Mum was to stay in hospital in Mount Gambier.

The first three days in intensive care were exactly that - intense. I was put into an induced coma. I had surgery to insert an Inter Cranial Pressure probe that measured the pressure on my brain.

The doctors were amazing. They tried every different combination of drugs, in every different order, to reduce the swelling on my brain but nothing seemed to work.

The worst day of my parent's life

The absolute worst day in my parent's life was day three. My dad was told that they should 'prepare for the worst' as the doctors had done everything they could and it was very likely I wasn't going to live. He rang my mum who was still in Mount Gambier hospital and they cried together over the phone.

Some arrangements were then made for mum to be airlifted to Adelaide to be with me. But having a broken pelvis meant she could only see me from a distance.

While I was in a coma I had two small seizures. I also needed several blood transfusions to replace the blood I lost roadside and all the blood that was taken from me throughout each day to be tested.

The doctors tried one last combination of drugs that obviously did the trick to bring the pressure down on my brain.

I had survived

I was brought out of my induced coma. Slowly, over the next few days, lines were removed.

The probe through my skull was surgically removed.

One of the biggest moments for my family was seeing me breathe by myself again.

I had family with me all the time. My Dad's sister Denise came to help and my Mum's brother Tom stayed with me every night for the eight weeks I was in hospital.

but . . .

I couldn't move my right side at all.

And I had no speech.

I showed no signs of recognising anyone besides my sister Nicole, I immediately connected with her.

When she visited me I would grab her ear with my left hand and pull her close.

It became a nightly ritual for Nicole to climb into bed with me.

I was moved out of Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and onto the ward when I was no longer considered critical.

I was fed in liquid form by a nasal gastric tube because I had lost the ability to swallow.

I couldn't stand and therapy would make me cry from what everyone could only guess was from frustration and pain.

Overcoming obstacles

Hydrotherapy started early and without this I would have been much slower at recovery. It really helped me to start moving my right side.

Our first family outing was very frustrating for me. I couldn't talk and I couldn't walk and even my good hand couldn't get the message to let go of the bread I was holding to feed the birds.

Speech therapy was the most difficult and the most important session I would have. In the early stages the speech pathologist had to teach me how to swallow again.

My brain wasn't sending the messages it needed to, to the muscles involved in swallowing and the concern was that I would swallow into my lungs. I had two speech sessions every week day for eight weeks.

My physio measured me up for a walking frame but before it was made I had already begun putting weight through my right leg.

I didn't understand that I couldn't walk so I just bypassed the walking frame and worked out my own way of walking!

Four weeks after the accident I could stand with weight on my right leg and using my left hip I would swing my right leg through.

At the six week mark I was walking un-aided and I had mastered chewing and swallowing.

My therapists did a fantastic job of making my sessions fun and playful. My sister Nicole was often at them and seeing her having fun doing things always inspired me to try them even if they were really difficult for me.

I had two physio and occupational therapy sessions a day. Dad was at every session. We were all very tired by the end of the day.

Speech sessions were the most difficult for me.

To begin with I was only making a few sounds but I couldn't produce sounds on request. I found it really frustrating. (Dad was my favourite person at that time and he was banned from my speech sessions because I would bury my head into him and cry with frustration.)

Another thing I liked to do was to hide in the barrel when I got frustrated.

At the eight week mark I was ready to go home to Mount Gambier.

New me adapting to my old life

Returning home was daunting to my parents, I was very much changed.

I still couldn't speak and had trouble following instructions.

I returned to kindy instead of starting school.

I did dangerous things like climbing to the top of climbing frames and then just letting go.

My brain had a lot of re-wiring to do yet.

I had a School Support Officer, Marion Brooksby, put with me and have had SSO's all my schooling life and still do to this very day.

I missed a few hours of school every week for speech, physio and occupational therapy sessions through most of my primary school years. Some sessions were after school. Slowly and with a lot of frustration along the way I started producing sounds.

By the end of the year of the accident I had a few words. I could say my name and Santa and Furby which is what I wanted for Christmas. I had a few words I could sign and I carried a book with pictures I could point to.

I still had a lot of trouble processing information.

Trying new things

In 2002 my brother Mikey was born. He has been good for my recovery too. I re-learnt a lot of the early years stuff with him - things that had been lost from my memory.

I loved physical activity and my physio suggested I take up Little athletics as a form of rehabilitation.

I tried this for a season in 2001/02 but didn't like coming last all the time.

So the next season I tried t-ball and basketball instead. This was the season that my sister Nicole started breaking centre records and winning medals at state championships at athletics. I wanted that too so the next season saw my return to athletics.

Singing was another form of therapy for me. I had loved singing before the accident and luckily the musical area of my brain seemed unaffected. I started singing lessons when I was eight and she has been a huge help for my recovery for so many reasons.

My pronunciation of words and my self esteem are just two.

It was also amazing how music helped my memory of words.

Paralympic dream

While I was at primary school I competed in my first competition for Athletes With a Disability (AWD).

From here I was selected to be part of the SA team that competed at the 2005 Pacific School Games in Melbourne.

In 2010, I competed in my first Athletics Australia nationals in Perth alongside Australia's best AWD and able-bodied athletes.

Following this, one of the highlights of my athletics career so far, was being chosen to represent Australia at the International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand in January, 2011.

After this I was nominated into the shadow squad for the London 2012 Paralympic team.

I spent an amazing athletics season travelling around Australia and competing and training with Australia's best athletes.

I had a great season of personal bests but not quite good enough to make the team for London. My sights are now set on next year's World Championships in France and then Rio 2016.

My coach, Steve Butler, lives in Adelaide so I need to travel to train with him and every competition I go to involves travelling to another city. I have been fortunate to have a Paralympic Scholarship with the South Australian Sports Institute for the last two years.

At the time of the accident in 1999 the Mount Gambier community came together and raised money to help me and my family. It is truly wonderful to feel this support still.

I have learnt a lot from my life experiences so far. I have learnt that I am really fortunate to have such a supportive family and community behind me.

I would be lying to say I'm not really disappointed I didn't make it to London this year. But when I look at the big picture I can see how amazing my journey has been so far.

I have learnt that the prize really is in the journey. Reaching the dream is made up of amazing experiences. I have met amazing people, done amazing things and been to amazing places.

Photography

I first used a camera as a way of communicating my stories in speech therapy and at primary school.

I always had difficulty using a camera because of my right handed weakness but I always enjoyed taking photos.

Looking at photos I had taken would be a great prompt for words I would search for.

My therapist described my language difficulties as being similar to having English as a second language, my problem is that I don't have a first language to fall back on.

When I don't use words very often, even common words, I forget what they mean.

A lot of photos I took for speech therapy were of simple things to practise words like under, over and behind.

I took photos of a teddy bear under a blanket and a teddy bear behind a box and then I would practise saying 'The teddy bear is behind the box'.

Sounds simple, but it wasn't for me.

Having photographs that I had taken myself really reminded me of the words I needed.